The Thanksgiving week mood in the market was generally positive. The Dow Jones Average was +2.2%, the S&P 500 Index was +2.3%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +3.0%. As we head into the last month of 2020, investors are likely to continue the focus on the optimism of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and their …
Stocks backed-off all-time highs last week as renewed concerns of increasing COVID case loads and restrictions in high-risk states pulled against investor optimism of vaccines on the way. The Dow Jones Average and S&P 500 Index declined 0.7% and the NASDAQ 100 Index declined 0.2%. With 474 of 500 companies in the S&P 500 …
Following a strong post-election day rally the week prior, the S&P 500 Index (+2.2%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+4.2%) followed with a second week of gains while the NASDAQ 100 Index retreated modestly (-1.3%). Much of the differential in performance was driven by sentiment that a potential COVID vaccine was imminent which boosted …
A strong post-election day rally boosted the major equity indices last week. The NASDAQ 100 Index was +9.4%, the S&P 500 Index was +7.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was +6.9%. The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee kept short-term interest rates steady in its 0% to 0.25% target range. The FOMC acknowledged …
Despite a slew of strong company earnings reports, concerns about an accelerating spread of COVID-19 in both the U.S. and abroad pushed stocks lower last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 6.5%, the S&P 500 Index declined 5.6%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index declined 5.5%. The earnings reporting season is rolling on and …
The third quarter earnings reporting season peaks this week with 180 companies in the S&P 500 Index scheduled to report earnings. The current third quarter consensus is for earnings to be down 16.7% year-over-year (versus down 18.7% last week and down 21.7% at the start of earnings season) on a 3.6% decline in revenue. …
The third quarter reporting season moves into its second big week with 91 companies in the S&P 500 Index scheduled to report earnings. Of the 49 companies that have already reported, 85.7% have exceeded consensus expectations versus the long-term average of 65.1%. This has raised the current forecast for earnings to be down 18.7% …
Despite see-sawing news over the progress of stimulus talks and President Trump’s COVID recovery, U.S. equity indices managed to post an impressive gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was +3.3%, the S&P 500 Index was +3.9%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +4.2%. After several weeks of election and COVID-driven news, …
The NASDAQ increased 2.0% for the week to snap its three-week losing streak while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%. The S&P 500 Index has declined 5.8% since the beginning of September and the relatively higher technology weighted NASDAQ 100 Index has declined 7.9% over the same time frame. This Friday we get data from …
Stocks posted their third consecutive down week. The downside was felt more in the technology and growth-oriented sectors of the market. The S&P 500 Index has declined 5.17% since the beginning of September and the relatively higher technology weighted NASDAQ 100 Index has declined 9.69% over the same time frame. At its recent meeting, …
Stocks posted back-to-back down weeks despite reaching record highs near the start of September. The downside was felt more in the technology and growth-oriented sectors of the market. The S&P 500 Index has declined 4.55% since the beginning of September and the relatively higher technology weighted NASDAQ 100 Index ihas declined 8.45% over the …
After a long recovery back to record levels, the S&P 500 Index hit a speed bump last week, especially among some of the stocks in the information technology and other technology related sectors that had posted large gains since the market bottom in March. Thursday was the worst downside day of the week, down …
The S&P 500 Index built on its recent record and closed above 3500 for the first time last week. Data indicating that COVID-19 is on the downslope, a supportive Federal Reserve, and a view that the recent second quarter corporate earnings are a likely trough for this cycle all contributed to the optimism. We …
It was a record week as the S&P 500 Index completed its comeback from the COVID-induced selloff in the Spring. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 closed at 3,389 which exceeded the previous high set back on February 19th and ended the week at 3,397. While the unknown social and economic impact of COVID-19 caused …
It was a quieter week in the earnings reporting cycle with only 16 companies in the S&P 500 Index reporting earnings. The last big announcements come this week with some major retailers reporting earnings. With 457 companies in the S&P 500 having reported second quarter earnings to date, 81% have reported results above consensus. …
Heading into the tail-end of the second quarter earnings season, 441 companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings with 82% reporting results above consensus. This is better than the long-term average of 64.9%. A fourth consecutive better than expected week has moved current consensus for second quarter S&P 500 earnings to down 31.7% …
Second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the U.S. saw a record contraction of 32.9% as the April through June time period was hit by the COVID induced business shutdowns and stay at home orders. While the large decline is sobering, it is also likely to be short-lived as economic data has been improving. …
We’re expecting a great deal of news flow this week with 189 companies in the S&P 500 Index scheduled to report second quarter earnings, the Federal Reserve meeting taking place on Wednesday, and the first look at Second Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) scheduled for release on Thursday. Additionally, the enhanced unemployment benefits are …
The second quarter earnings reporting period kicked-off last week. While earnings should be significantly lower for many companies due to the COVID related shutdowns, some favorable results relative to these dire expectations pushed the S&P 500 Index to an up week. Of the 47 companies in the S&P 500 Index that have reported second …
This week we will start to see the companies reporting second quarter earnings show us their cards. Due to uncertain outlooks at the height of the COVID back in April, more than 180 companies in the S&P 500 Index declined to provide earnings guidance, so we may have a wider range of outcomes than …
The equity markets rebounded this past week to finish with their first weekly gain in five weeks. Optimism on international trade between the U.S. and China was the major catalyst for the weekly gain in stocks. With no significant corporate earnings news, we’ve stressed that economic and geopolitical news is likely to set market …
The final significant week of second quarter earnings brought upside surprises from several big retail companies, but an escalation of tariffs between the U.S. and China overshadowed everything and ended the week on the downside for the major equity indices. On second quarter earnings, 482 companies (>96%) in the S&P 500 have reported quarter-to-date. …
It was a volatile week in the stock and bond markets with each day providing a different catalyst to change market direction. The week started with continued concern over U.S. dollar / Chinese yuan exchange rate and trade/tariff issues. Optimism reigned on Tuesday as the White House announced a delay to some tariffs until …
The Chinese government’s move to weaken its currency relative to the U.S. Dollar rattled global markets early last week. The Yuan/Dollar exchange rate passed through the 7 Yuan-to-the-Dollar level. This makes the Chinese currency weaker (see “Currency Pegging” explanation below) and aids the pricing of Chinese exports in the global markets. The concerns over …
Following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement to lower its target range for the Fed Funds Rate by 0.25%, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the move was a “midcycle adjustment to policy” and that future rate cuts were not a guarantee. Despite the Fed Chairman’s comments, the markets are currently forecasting an …
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will make a decision on its interest rate target. The current market probabilities are for a reduction of 0.25% which would bring the target range for the Fed Funds Rate to 2.00% to 2.25%. We can attribute most of the stock market tailwind over the past …
The stock market is often seen as a large system that moves in unison based on macroeconomic or geopolitical factors. During corporate earnings season, the bottom-up impact of each company reporting earnings can be seen individually, often with significant disparity, making it more of a market of stocks. The volume of second quarter earnings reports …
Second quarter earnings season takes center stage this week as 56 companies in the S&P 500 Index are scheduled to report earnings results. Most major banks will report earnings and we can see how they are navigating the current interest rate environment. Several industrial companies will also report earnings results and we can get …
An upside surprise to the June employment report last week tempered expectations that the Federal Reserve would be reducing short-term interest rate at the July FOMC meeting. The Labor Department reported that Non-Farm Payrolls increased by 224,000 in June versus an expectation of 160,000. This was a sharp reversal from May’s disappointing jobs report …
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